Before The Walls Fall - Pastor Jonathan Simons

Joshua 5 slows the action after the Jordan parts and before Jericho falls, because God pauses the conquest to work on the people he loves. God first renews the covenant through circumcision at Gilgal, right when momentum seems strongest and the enemies’ hearts have melted. The text makes the strange timing plain on purpose. Before soldiers march, Abraham’s sign returns and identity is re-marked into a new generation. Genesis 17 sits underneath the scene. God did all the talking, made all the promises, and even took the punishment. Circumcision becomes the reminder in their own bodies that they are not first conquerors or recipients of land, but “his people.” The pause says, remember whose you are before you swing a sword, remember the promise keeper before you look at the promise.

Then the calendar turns to Passover on Canaan’s soil. Passover becomes the first meal in the land, not a victory parade but a table. The meal re-roots identity in what God has already done, not in what Israel is about to do. Slaves were redeemed, the blood covered, the Lord brought them out. They have nothing to prove to earn a victory, because deliverance they did not earn already named them. Right there the manna stops. The provider does not change, the provision does. Wilderness bread gives way to the land’s grain, because the miracle that fit the last season cannot carry the next. The stop is not abandonment. It is a sign that they are no longer wanderers. New season, new miracle. Holding on to yesterday’s manna would make them miss today’s harvest.

Finally Joshua nears Jericho and lifts his eyes to the walls. History presses in, forty years of delay and graves for a decision he did not make. A warrior with a drawn sword stands there. “Are you for us or for our enemies?” Joshua asks. “Neither,” comes the answer. “As commander of the army of the Lord, I have now come.” The issue is not whether heaven is on Israel’s side, but whether Joshua is under heaven’s command. Joshua falls face down. Before the walls fall, Joshua falls. He does not get a blueprint. He gets presence, and that is enough. Faith has never been trusting the plan. Faith has always been trusting the one who holds the plan. Joshua 5 shows why God makes his people wait. He renews whose they are, who they are, and who is in charge, so that when the walls finally tumble, the people who walk through are ready.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Covenant comes before conquest [09:14] God marks identity before he mobilizes action. The pause at Gilgal is not a detour but a decision by God to remind his people they belong to him. When belonging is settled, striving can stop and obedience can start. The sword gets sheathed until the heart is sealed. [09:14]
• 2. Identity rests on finished deliverance [16:35] Passover in the land anchors who they are in what God already did. The table teaches that victory is never a résumé item, it is a remembrance item. Confidence grows, not from what someone can achieve next, but from the Redeemer who already named them his own. [16:35]
• 3. The provider stays, the provision shifts [20:08] Manna’s end is mercy, not neglect. God changes methods to match seasons, moving wanderers into stewards who plant and harvest. Clutching yesterday’s miracle can blind a person to today’s harvest, but trusting the unchanging giver frees hands to receive new gifts. [20:08]
• 4. Surrender outruns strategy [30:11] The commander’s “Neither” cuts through tribal thinking and puts heaven’s authority at the center. Joshua trades posture for prostration, plans for presence. When the one in charge is near, the lack of a playbook stops being a crisis and becomes worship. [30:11]
• 5. Waiting forms people for walls to fall [33:54] Gilgal time is not wasted time. God forges depth in the in-between that battle-day cannot build. The question is rarely God’s faithfulness, but whether trust will grow while answers are still out of sight. Preparation is the hidden mercy that keeps victory from undoing the victor. [33:54]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:33] - Memorial stones and momentum
• [01:49] - Circumcision in the gap
• [03:11] - God pauses the conquest
• [03:34] - Life in the in-between
• [05:39] - Work in you before through you
• [09:14] - Covenant renewed at Gilgal
• [10:29] - Genesis 17, promise and sign
• [15:07] - First Passover in the land
• [18:43] - Manna stops, provision changes
• [21:34] - New season, new miracle
• [26:16] - Joshua surveys Jericho
• [29:32] - Neither, I take command
• [30:11] - Joshua falls in worship
• [32:49] - Prepared in waiting, not withheld

1. In Joshua 5:2-9, why did God command Israel to undergo circumcision after crossing the Jordan but before attacking Jericho?
2. What significance does the timing of the first Passover celebration in the Promised Land hold (Joshua 5:10-12)?
3. How does the commander of the Lord’s army redefine Joshua’s question, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” (Joshua 5:13-15)?

1. Why might God prioritize renewing the covenant (through circumcision) over immediate military action, even when Israel’s enemies were already afraid (Joshua 5:1)?
2. The manna stopped once Israel ate the produce of Canaan (Joshua 5:12). What does this reveal about how God’s provision adapts to new seasons?
3. The commander says, “Neither” when asked whose side he is on (Joshua 5:14). How does this challenge Joshua’s (and our) assumptions about God’s role in our battles?

1. In seasons of waiting, how can you actively remind yourself of your identity as “God’s redeemed” rather than focusing solely on the breakthrough you’re seeking?
2. Have you ever clung to a past “miracle” or method of God’s provision (like manna) while missing His new provision for your current season? What might that look like today?
3. When facing a challenge, do you tend to ask, “God, are you for me?” or “Am I submitted to Your authority?” What would it look like to shift your posture from strategizing to surrendering?
4. The sermon notes that “holding on to yesterday’s manna can blind us to today’s harvest.” What is one outdated expectation or habit you need to release to embrace God’s current work?
5. Joshua fell facedown in worship before receiving any battle plans (Joshua 5:14). How could prioritizing God’s presence over a detailed “blueprint” change your approach to uncertainty?